Fall 2018

Editor: Here we have Harmonia Rosales' "Fall," painted in 2018 with oil on canvas. The subject's solemn expression and the intricate floral patterns create a really contemplative atmosphere. What's your take on this work? Curator: Rosales’ choice of oil, that inherently historical material, to depict this Black figure subverts art historical norms by challenging the existing hierarchies of representation in the medium itself. Notice how she isn’t just painting a portrait, but staging a counter-narrative using the very tools—oil paint, canvas—traditionally used to exclude Black bodies. Editor: So you see the materials as being deeply connected to the message? The oil paint and canvas… how do they speak to labor, exactly? Curator: Think about the history embedded in these materials. Oil paint was historically produced and traded within specific colonial systems, connecting the artistic process to larger systems of resource extraction and labor. Canvas too - its production involves cotton, historically cultivated through enslaved labor. Rosales' act of painting a Black figure onto these loaded materials is a powerful reclamation. Editor: That’s a really interesting way to consider it – the raw materials themselves carrying historical weight. I was focused on the image itself. Curator: Consider also how Rosales renders the figure with such detail, drawing the eye to the meticulous application of the paint, highlighting the artist’s labor and skill. Editor: So, is Rosales using her technique and materials to rewrite historical power dynamics in art? Curator: Precisely. The consumption of this image then becomes an active participation in that revised narrative. We, as viewers, are asked to consider not just what we see, but how it was made and what it represents in the broader social context. Editor: That makes me rethink what I initially saw in this artwork. The artist’s choice of materials isn’t just about aesthetics, but about challenging how art is made, who makes it, and who is represented. Thanks for sharing such an insightful perspective!